St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-30

power the department 10 make the
necessary surveys whereby some of the
grants might be adjusted, and no i'm
mediate prospect of such surveys was
in sight. But a law was passed March
3, 1887. ga statutes, $50, whereby the
secretary of the interior was directed
to immediately adjust each of the rail-
road land grants made by congress to
aid in the construction of railroads"
With an earnest desire to obey the man
date OF congress to give to the corpora
tons their every right under the laws,
and at the same time follow the direc-
tons given by you to see.
THAT AMPLE PROTECTION
Shonld be extended to settlers and
those seeking to make settlement on the
public lands Ia matter that had been so
long and so utterly 0verShadOwed). L
entered upon a most careful cOnSidera-
ton of the whole subject of the history
and law relating to land grants, and
concluded that if the department was
clothed with authority to make indem-
nifty Withdrawals. as had been done in
so many instances, the exercise of that
authority was matter entirely within
sound discretion and not matter of
legal obligation in any respect; that the
same sound discretion which, in the in
ttItSI vi lLG COfu ldiiiCc. JuStlilCu ottiu
Withdrawals, now demanded peremptO-
rily in the public interest speedy re-
vocation of the same: and that the most
effective way of expediting and adjust
ment of the land grants and doing eX-
act justice to the companies, guarding
and promoting the interests of the set
tiers also, was 10 permit the public to
enter into competition with
the companies in the Selec-
ton of lands heretofore withdrawn
for indemnity purposes. Accordingly,
on May IS, 1857, with your approval,
rules were laid upon the different COM
panies for whose benefit Withdrawals
had been made TO show cause by day
certain why said Withdrawals should
not be revoked. Some of the COM
panieS failed to show cause; others
filed answers asserting to the reyOca-
ton, as they had received satisfaction
of the grant in full or as far as possible :;
others aSSented on condition that lands
covered by selections already made
should be excepted from the order of
revocation and other companies OBJ
iected to the order of revocation as lille
gal and a violation of chartered rights.
Briefs were filed and oral arguments
accorded TO the counsel of Suc.i ,'i...-
panieS as desired TO be hear i! ,.i
which were fully and CAREFUL 81. g.. -
cred as was due to the impO. ,.l: -
the questions and the magnitu :. al t
interests involved; and Oil M. -.
1887, my views were fully expire "a Ill
a decision rendered in the case Oh the
Atlantic q Pacific Railroad company
which by answer and argument raised
nearly all the objections that were pre-
scented in part only by a number of
other companies. l send herewith a
copy of the whole text of that opinion.
in which those objections were answered
seriatim. Two days later the orders
withdrawing the lands within the in
demnity limits and reserving the same
from settlement were revoked, and
THE LANDS RESTORED
to the public domain and to settlement,
first, in the cases of two companies
which had not answered; second, in
those which, answering, aSSented; the
third, in the cases of the companies
which set up defenseS coming within
the rulings in the foregoing opinion.
In the congressional grants TO the fol-
lowing railroad companies, the Hastings
81 Dakota, the st. Paul & Northern
Pacific, the st. Paul, Minneapolis &
Manitoba. the St. Paul Il Sioux City,
the Sioux City & St. Paul and the Wi
mona & st. Peter, it is provided that
upon filing the maps designating the
routes of said roads and branches it
shall be the duty of the secretary of the
interior to withdraw from market the
lands embraced within the provisions
of the act making the grant. In cOnSe-
Quence of this provision these roads were
omitted from the orders of restoration.
1t will be seen from the order passed in
the Atlantic d Pacific case, and which
was applied TO the other companies,
that, whilst it was determined that the
lands in question should not longer be
withheld from appropriation under the
settlement laws, every precaution pos
Sible was taken to protect the legal
rights of the corporations. Following
this action, instructions were SubSe-
quently issued to the commissioner of
the general land Office to detail all the
available force in his Office to the work
of adjusting the road grants, and pro-
ceeding as rapidly as possible with the
same. The amount of land restored to
the public domain. through the order
revoking the indemnity Withdrawals, is
stated by the commissioner of the gen.
eral land Office to be q, 80, 600. | beg
to refer to what has been said in an
other part of this report in relation to
the imperative necessity of appropria-
tons for the surveys. without which a
complete adjustment of these railroad
grants is not practicable at an early
day"